The Three Most Common Online Dating Scams

For many people, online dating can be a fun and social experience. If they find love, it may even turn into a dream. Yet for others, it can become a nightmare, destroying their confidence, and leaving their bank balance shattered. This happens when people fall victim to online dating scams.

Anyone who has watched television documentaries like the Tinder Swindler will know how convincing these scammers can be. Below, we give the most common types of online dating scams you must avoid.

Military Romance Scams

These scams involve using the profile and picture of military personnel to scam others. It is perfect for a scammer, as they have the image of someone who has a good job, shows a shared moral value by choosing to defend their country, and is a person who will be away from civilian society for a long period. They also don’t have to give a definite place of abode and can reel off a list of places they are stationed. Scammers will use military terms to make themselves sound more convincing, before building a relationship with people they have messaged and attempting to extort money.

In these circumstances, they will usually begin by asking for financial help. It may be for medical bills or to get out of dangerous situations. Anyone asking for monetary assistance should raise a red flag. ExpressVPN includes this as one of their top ten key indicators of a romance scam. Others include the inability to meet in person, which is another reason why active service men and women are a good choice. They also advise that anyone making these excuses after a few weeks is probably a scammer.

Verification

It is not just people posing with fake profiles that can get you scammed either. People can also pose as dating platforms. The most common of these is a verifications scam. This will arrive in the form of a text message, or possibly email. Asking you to update your records, you will need to click on the link to verify your account is still active.

Of course, this is just a way to gain access to your details. Any verification on major platforms, such as Tinder, will be done through their app. You should never get communications asking you to verify yourself from major dating sites.

Webcam Scams

These are extremely distressing and personal scams, that are unfortunately on the rise. After building a relationship, a person will ask to take the conversation off the platform to another communication channel such as Zoom. This is another classic sign of a scammer

When there, they will connect via webcam. More often than not, their camera will be broken. After convincing the other person to undress, they will send a ransom message saying that they will release the video or pictures if money is not sent. Not only is this financial, but it is a huge invasion of privacy. You should never reveal intimate videos and pictures online.

There are new scams every day, so don’t assume these are the only ones. Stay safe online, make sure you don’t give any details away, and always meet people in a safe place. By doing so, you will have peace of mind and can enjoy your dating.